This invention pertains to women's apparel and, in particular, swimwear. More particularly, this invention relates to a woman's swimsuit that can be converted from one-piece to two-piece and back again.
Traditionally, it has been a challenge to design women's swimsuits that are comfortable, stylish and functional. Swimsuits, particularly two-piece swimsuits known as bikinis, allow women to have more of their bodies exposed to the sun for tanning purposes. However, two-piece swimsuits may not be practical for active sports, such as vigorous swimming, diving and water skiing, where the forces of impact and water may partially disrobe the wearer. Moreover, two-piece swimsuits also offer little coverage of the wearer's body imperfections, such as scars or the like. One-piece women's swimsuits, on the other hand, which allow the wearer to engage in more strenuous water sports and may offer more surface coverage of the wearer's bodily imperfections, tend to be less comfortable and do not allow the wearer to attain as compete a suntan. In addition, a one-piece swimsuit may be less functional to the wearer, such as by requiring the wearer to completely disrobe in order for the wearer to use the bathroom.
In the past, there have been various attempts to design swimsuits that are able to combine fashion, comfort and function in a multipurpose swimsuit design for allowing a wearer to switch between a one- and two-piece swimsuit design. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,145 (Chow), entitled Convertible Bathing Suit, discloses a two-piece swimsuit that is equipped with a separate midriff fabric portion. The midriff fabric portion is removably attached to the front of the swimsuit between the bottom edge of the swimsuit top and the top edge of the bikini bottom so as to convert the two-piece bikini swimsuit into a one-piece swimsuit. In this manner, using a separate piece of fabric, the wearer can selectively convert between a two-piece swimsuit and one that appears, at least from the front, to be one-piece. However, this extra fabric portion must be inconveniently retained and carried by the wearer, so that switching from a two-piece swimsuit design to a one-piece swimsuit design can be accomplished without delay.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,669 (Beard), entitled Versatile Bathing Suit, discloses a two-piece ladies' swimsuit that has a hidden pocket or pouch within the swimsuit's bottom piece for containing additional materials for complementing the swimsuit. As disclosed, one such material that the pouch can contain is a piece of fabric or material for covering the wearer's abdomen, which piece may be attached with fasteners between the bottom edge of the swimsuit's top piece and the top edge of the swimsuit's bottom piece, either completely or partially around the wearer's body, in order to convert a two-piece swimsuit into a one-piece swimsuit. Similar to the Chow patent described above, this patent allows the wearer to convert the two-piece swimsuit into a one-piece swimsuit using a separate piece of fabric. Again, unfortunately, this extra separate fabric portion must be inconveniently retained and carried by the wearer, in case switching from a one-piece swimsuit design to a two-piece swimsuit design is desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,545 (Camarena), entitled Adjustable Swimsuit, discloses a two-piece swimsuit whose bottom piece has an intermediate connector flap that extends upward from the top edge of the bottom piece and is integral with the bottom piece. When the wearer desires to wear a one-piece swims suit, the connector flap can be pulled upward and attached to the bottom edge of the swimsuit's top piece using one or more connector elements. This flap can be tucked into the swimsuit bottom piece when the wearer desires to wear a two-piece swimsuit. In this manner, too, the wearer can convert the two-piece swimsuit into one that appears, at least from the front, to be one-piece. However, because the bottom piece of the swimsuit fits smoothly against the wearer's skin, when the wearer is wearing a two-piece swimsuit, the connector flap is uncomfortably and noticeably tucked into the bottom piece of the swimsuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,998 (Everett et al.), entitled Swimsuit with Displaceable Crotch, discloses a one-piece ladies'swimsuit in which the bottom portion is displaceable such that it can be separated from the front of the swimsuit (or the back, in another embodiment) and swung down, between the wearer's legs and away from the wearer's crotch. This swimsuit functionally offers a solution to the problem that women experience while attempting to remove a swimsuit in order to use the toilet, by allowing the crotch piece to be swung down, without the entire swimsuit having to be removed. Although the swimsuit disclosed in Everett et al. is functional and allows the wearer to use the bathroom without completely disrobing, it does not allow the wearer to covert easily between one- and two-piece swimsuits. In another embodiment shown in this patent, the top and bottom pieces of the two-piece swimsuit are separate and the elastic bands at their adjacent respective bottom and top edges are covered by a separate skirt or sash. Here, too, no mechanism is provided to allow the wearer to covert easily between one- and two-piece swimsuits.
Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide a women's swimsuit that will allow a wearer to selectively switch between wearing a one-piece swimsuit and a two-piece swimsuit.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a women's swimsuit that will allow the wearer to adjust the swimsuit in order to provide the desired degree of exposure and concealment depending on the particular circumstances in which the wearer is found.